Resident Evil 2 - Leon's Nightmare
by Kronos
Summary: **Chapter 3 Uploaded!*** Leon's first scenario written from his point of view. Give it a read to let me know if I should keep going people!
1. New Arrivals

New Arrivals  Disclaimer - I don't own Resident Evil, or any of the trademarks or characters in this story, I'm merely borrowing them for my own amusement 

The highway seemed black and endless as it passed under the jeep's wheels, stretching as far as the eye could see in the dim light. Sunset had not long passed and the shadows had grown larger and darker, covering the barren landscape in their firm embrace. 

The black jeep barreled down the empty road, it's headlights illuminating the area in dull light. Leon knew he was probably breaking the speed limit - not the best example for a law enforcement officer to set - but he was already more then behind schedule. It was his first official day as a cop in the Raccoon City Police Department tomorrow and he had planned to arrive in the town today with plenty of time to prepare himself. Thanks to some car trouble he was several hours late and in a sour mood as well. 

_This all I need. Irons already doesn't like me, I better not end up showing up tomorrow half dead from lack of sleep._

Leon Kennedy had never planned to move. The transfer was unavoidable, thanks to the lack of cops in the smaller cities and he was one of many chosen to try and fill the gaps in the local police force. He had only graduated from the Academy last year, and had been enjoying his previous post. Now he was forced to come to Raccoon City, a place he had never even heard of until recent times. 

It was a nice enough place he supposed, just like any other town really. He had only visited once; to meet with the local Chief of Police Brian Irons, and have a quick look around what was to be his new home. Irons had been professional, but not really friendly. Not that Leon had expected him to be; from what he had heard the Chief kept a lot of things to himself and didn't have many friends in either the force or the town. Still that was none of his concern. The town was primarily industrial, with the pharmaceutical company Umbrella operating a disposal facility nearby, which was the main source of employment. Leon knew of them only from the headlines he had seen linking them to some kind of virus outbreak. That had been a huge scandal a few months ago, but since then things had calmed down and life went on. 

Leon finally checked his speed as he passed under a battered old street sign indicating the turn off for Raccoon City. He was in the outskirts of the city now, and there was no point causing any accidents by being careless. Not much risk of that he thought - he hadn't seen a single car in over an hour. 

Several minutes later he was in the heart of the city, only a few streets from his new precinct. He slowed even more to study the buildings and stores lining both sides of the street, their windows reflecting the streetlights. Two things struck Leon as strange. 

_No movement: not one moving car, pedestrian, not even a dog! What is this? Is there some town meeting or convention I didn't hear about? And why is it so quiet? No sound at all, like a ghost town… this is strange._

His mind focused back on the road just in time to slam on the brakes as the jeep's headlights revealed a black mass in the middle of the road. The car stopped immediately, and there was a rustle and flapping of wings as the crowd of crows he had spotlighted took off, leaving a grisly form lying motionless on the ground. It was hard to tell what it was at this distance; just a lump in the road, but he could see it was stained red in several places. 

His first thought was that it was a dog that had been hit by a car. Or maybe a coyote or something - they were known to occasionally come into the city. 

_Whatever it is, it's been here a while for the scavengers to have moved in. Where the hell are the city workers! This shouldn't be just left here to rot in the middle of a main road!_

Leon killed the engine. He knew this was going to delay him even more, but he couldn't just leave it alone. 

_I guess this kind of thing goes with the job. Might as well start setting a good example for the public._

He opened the door and stepped out of the car. He was already wearing his uniform, the bold white R.P.D letters stenciled out on the back and front. To Leon, his footsteps sounded unnaturally loud on the road as he approached the corpse. As he got closer, he realized it wasn't a dog at all it was… 

_Oh my God!_

Leon kneeled down next to the corpse. Not much was recognizable about her by now, but he could tell she had been young, probably around his age. He realized there was no point calling an ambulance - the damage had long since been done. He felt sick just looking at the body, but forced himself to examine it further. 

The woman was on her back, her face still mostly recognizable. She had a look of both surprise and fear frozen on her features. Blood was everywhere - whatever had happened, it hadn't been quick. 

Though he hadn't been on the beat very long, Leon had seen a lot of things in his time as a cop. Shootings, stabbings, assaults… but all of them combined couldn't even come close to what he was looking at now. Fully clothed, the corpse's chest and stomach was a mass of puncture wounds, huge pieces of flesh seemed to have been ripped clean out. Leon could see exposed rib bones that had been snapped like twigs. Her stomach was simply gone, replaced with a ragged hole. Pieces of cloth and flesh lay carelessly scattered nearby. Her body was covered with marks and smaller wounds. 

_She's been… eviscerated! What the hell is this? These marks, they look like teeth… was she attacked by some kind of animal? In the middle of a city? Not likely. What else could it be though? Why hasn't anyone seen her yet? Where the hell are these people!_

Leon thought he was going to be sick. He stood slowly, his blue eyes staring into the lifeless eyes of the corpse at his feet. He had to do something about this, get over to the precinct right away and notify them. This wasn't… 

His train of thought was broken by a noise behind him. A low moaning followed by shuffling footsteps. The sounds were so unnatural in the silent surroundings that he was instantly warned of danger. He whirled around, his hand already going to the handgun on his hip. 

Several figures were staggering out of the shadows towards him. At first he thought it was a group of drunks - maybe kids that had partied too much. As they got closer, he got a good look at the face of the leading figure… and gasped in shock. 

It was a walking corpse. A tall man, his head bald, with what remained of his clothing hanging in tatters. He staggered towards Leon, arms outstretched as if looking for a gruesome embrace. The man's skin was gray and slimy; as Leon watched, pieces simply slid off like snakeskin, revealing red flesh underneath. His face was grotesque, like something out of an old horror movie he had once seen. His cheeks were puffy, his face ashen, surrounding sunken bloodshot eyes. He was leering at Leon, blood dripping from around his mouth and staining his already rotting teeth an ugly red. He made gasping, retching noises as he staggered forward. Behind him at least a half dozen similar figures had appeared. 

_Jesus! What the hell is going on!_

Leon's shock wore off quickly and in one smooth motion he drew his handgun and leveled it at the guy in the lead. 

"Freeze! That's far enough!" 

They ignored him 

"Stop now! This is your final warning!" 

They continued to stumble forward. 

_Can't let them get any closer, whoever they are they don't look friendly._

Leon's finger tensed on the trigger, and then he felt something gripping his ankle. He lowered his gaze to find a skeletal hand digging into his leg. The supposedly dead woman had rolled over and grabbed him, already bringing her mouth across to sink her teeth into his flesh. 

"No!" Leon cried. He lowered the gun and fired a single shot into the back of her head. Her grip loosened and she fell motionless. He then opened up on the approaching crowd. Gunshots rang clearly through the night air. 

The first two bullets slammed into the guy leading the pack and he staggered back a few steps, blood staining his dirty white shirt. Then to Leon's amazement, he simply shrugged it off as if they were mosquito bites and continued forward. 

"What's going on? I hit him…" Leon asked himself. 

He fired over and over, every single bullet cleanly hitting one of the monsters (Leon couldn't call them people anymore.) Yet each of them simply continued walking. He found himself backing up towards a nearby alley as the crowd continued to rush him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw more and more shuffling figures joining the throng. 

_What are these things? I'm almost out of ammo!_

A door to his right in the alley suddenly burst open. He whirled around ready to fire, and just stopped himself from shooting a young woman. She stopped dead in the doorway, his gun pointed at her head. She shook her head frantically, eyes wide with fear. 

"Don't shoot!" 

_At last, someone sane in this nightmare._

Leon spotted the zombie behind her, about to place a clawed hand around her neck. 

"Get down! Now!" 

She dropped to a crouch instinctively and he fired. A small red hole appeared in the monster's forehead and it tumbled back silently. 

Leon extended his other hand to help the girl up. She got to her feet, glancing at the corpse behind her. 

"I don't know who you are, but thank God you were here!" 

"We have to get under cover. These streets are too dangerous. Let's go to the police station, we should be safe there." Leon reloaded the gun as he spoke, his face grim. 

She nodded. "Okay." 

The two of them dashed back out onto the road. They were still a safe distance from the group of monsters that had ambushed him. They seemed to be aimlessly milling around, not sure where he had gone. 

_Whatever they are at least they're slow. Not very bright either. But how can we get to the precinct?_

His jeep had already been overrun, that was out of the question. He looked around the road and finally spotted what he was looking for. A police cruiser parked on the opposite side of the road. It seemed to be undamaged. 

_Please let there be keys inside_

"There!" he gestured towards the car and pushed the woman towards it. "The car!" 

They quickly crossed the street. Leon glanced through the driver's window and was relieved to see the keys still in the ignition. They both jumped in and Leon took a few seconds to do up his seat belt. The girl, seeing his example fumbled with hers. He turned the key and the comforting sound of the engine purring traveled through the car. He put it in gear and floored the accelerator. 

The cruiser leaped into gear and sped off. In seconds they had left the wandering zombies far behind. Leon realised he was holding his breath in fear and finally exhaled. They were safe - at least for the moment. Then again, the way things were going so far, being in this city anywhere wasn't too safe at all. 

He divided his attention between the road and the brunette beside him. This was the first real chance he had to actually get a proper look at her. She was younger then him, her long hair done up in a pony tail which made her look even younger. Bright blue eyes studied the dashboard in front of her. She was dressed almost all in dark pink and black, and he noted the minor scratches on her bare legs and arms. She was shaking, hands gripping her seat belt tight. 

_She's probably in shock, can't say I blame her. Just what is this place? It's like something out of a horror movie. Those people, they were like zombies… some kind of disease? If she's a local maybe she can tell me something. I have to look after her now. _

He realized he was missing something she was saying. 

"…Arrived in town and the whole place went insane! Do you know what's going on around here?" 

"I was hoping you could tell me." Leon replied. He grabbed the police radio, hoping to get a connection but wasn't completed surprised when all he could hear was static. He tossed it aside in disgust. "Radio's out. Looks like we're on our own for now." 

She appeared to be seeing his uniform for the first time. "So you're a cop?" 

He managed a wry smile. "Yep, first day on the job. I arrived just in time for the party from the looks of it. Name's Leon Kennedy by the way." 

"I'm Claire. Claire Redfield. I came looking for my brother Chris. Seems today wasn't the best day to come." She seemed to be doing better now, a little less tense now they were on first name terms. 

_Redfield… I know that name. That's the guy everyone was talking about last time. Some kind of conspiracy theory…_

"Your brother… he's a S.T.A.R.S member right?" 

She nodded. "We've always been close. I haven't heard from him in months, so I thought I'd come pay him a visit here. Do you know him?" 

"No, but last time I was here a few months ago there were all kinds of rumors going around that the S.T.A.R.S had uncovered some kind of illegal chemical research by Umbrella. Nothing came out of it though" 

Claire looked a little disappointed, but hid it well enough. "I heard a few things as well, but it was all a little too hard to believe. Hopefully Chris will be at the police station." 

_If anyone's there at all. This is all too weird; it's like being in the goddamn twilight zone. I have to keep her spirits up though._

"I'm sure he will be. There's bound to be help there. The place is like a fortress, we'll be safe." He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince more with that. Claire seemed to relax though. A thought occurred to him. 

"Will you check the glove box?" 

She popped the lid open and just as he had hoped, withdrew a handgun similar to his. She gripped the handle with both hands and sighted it through the windscreen. 

_She seems to know how to handle a gun at least. Just in case something happens._

"Better take that with you Claire. Just in case." She nodded. He turned down another street, only a couple of minutes from the precinct. 

Then everything went crazy. Leon barely saw it, a flicker of movement in the rear view mirror. Claire screamed and tried to bring her gun around as the zombie lunged between them from its hiding place below the back seat. Slimy hands brushed Leon's neck as the living corpse went to grab him, its bloody mouth trying to bite. Leon jerked his body away, in the process throwing the wheel hard to the right. The cruiser slammed into the nearby wall and sparks flew off the twisted metal as it screeched in protest. 

"No!" he heard himself cry as they continued to speed along the road, scraping the wall. With one hand he tried to punch and push the zombie aside while trying desperately to keep control of the car. They were coming to a T-Junction and he realised he wouldn't be able to stop in time. 

"Look out!" Claire screamed. He spun the wheel as hard as he could to the right 

The cruiser spun around a full ninety degrees, so it was the back, not the front that slammed hard into a steel signpost. Mercifully the zombie vanished, and was thrown straight through the back window with the force of the impact. It rolled over the trunk of the car and was then lost from sight. 

Leon could feel blood on his forehead from where it had struck the wheel on impact. His neck ached where it had slammed back into the seat, and it took a few moments for his head to clear. He glanced with concern over at his passenger. Remarkably she seemed to have survived intact. He guessed if they weren't wearing seat belts, both of them would have come off much worse. 

"You okay?" 

She managed a smile. "Still in one piece." 

Leon was just unbuckling his seat belt when he heard it, an engine running. The first time he had heard anything else around there. He looked up and saw a truck approaching them, a huge petrol tanker. It was racing down the road they had just traveled and as he watched it smashed a wrecked car clean out of the way. He realized even before he made out the zombie-like figure in the cab that it wasn't going to stop. 

"He's going to ram us! Claire, get out now! Move!" 

He didn't have time to see if she obeyed. Leon forced his door open and broke into an unsteady run just as the huge truck smashed full force into their car. The tanker exploded on impact, a massive fireball enveloping both vehicles. The force of the blast threw him to the ground a short distance away and the deafening boom made his ear pop. 

It took Leon a few moments to slowly get to his feet. Turning back to the remains of the car all he could see was a wall of flames. The smell of petrol assaulted his nostrils and the intense fire made his skin burn even from this distance. 

"Claire!" he screamed, trying to be heard over the hungry, crackling flames. "Can you hear me?" He was relieved when he finally heard her faint reply. 

"Leon! I'm okay!" 

He started forward but realised there was no way of getting to her. The fire was too intense, 

"Claire! I can't get to you from here, you'll have to go to the police station, it's safer! I'll meet you there okay?" 

"Alright! Be careful Leon!" 

_She's got a gun; she'll be okay… I hope. No, she has to be. She will be. Have to look after myself for now._

Leon could hear the all too familiar moaning and shuffling already. They were coming. He turned away from the burning wreckage and started to run. 

_Author's Notes - As you noticed, I took a few liberties with the dialogue from the intro, else this would have been a pretty quick story. I think it's a fairly accurate description otherwise! All reviews welcome, and most appreciated!_


	2. The Kendo Gun Shop

Kendo Gun Shop  Leon hurried down one of the main streets of Raccoon City, eager to puts some distance between himself and the burning wreckage of the truck. The explosion had already attracted too much attention and more of the living corpses (zombies! Who could believe it, but it seemed that was indeed what they were) were appearing by the minute. He was fortunate they were so slow, else they would have overwhelmed him immediately. Wanting to conserve his limited ammunition supply, Leon easily dodged past the few that tried to cut off his escape route and continued along the road as fast as possible. He was trying to think of his next move 

_These main roads are too dangerous, I'm far too exposed out here. Better to stick to the alleys when I can, less chance of being spotted._

His plans changed somewhat as he shot down a zombie directly in his path and found himself standing outside a store. The road ended here in a dead end, a large black station wagon blocking the way. He barely noticed that as he gazed at the shop. What attracted his attention was the large sign on top, proclaiming it as 'Kendo Gun Shop' 

_A gun store! There's bound to be some weapons in there, and some more ammo. About time I caught a break in this place_

He tried the door and was a little surprised when it opened easily. He stepped inside and closed it again. However he hadn't taken more then a step when a voice halted him. 

"Freeze!" 

Leon spotted him then, a large, burly looking man with black hair behind the sales counter immediately opposite him. The owner he guessed. He had a thick blood stained bandage around his lower right arm and crimson marks over his dirty white shirt. The guy was holding a shotgun, which he loaded with a sharp click and aimed at Leon's chest as he barked out another question. 

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" 

Leon kept his hands at his sides and his gun pointed at the floor, careful not to make any quick movements that might set the already nervous fellow off. "Don't shoot! I'm R.P.D, I'm not one of them!" The guy looked him over for another couple of seconds before slowly, to Leon's relief, lowering his weapon. 

_That'd be perfect, to survive this mess only to catch a bullet from a trigger happy civilian_

The guy walked around the counter towards Leon. "Sorry about that. The whole place is crazy, it's hard to trust anyone who even looks human anymore." 

"Never mind. Can you tell me what the helL is happening around here? I only just arrived in town, and I've almost been killed twice already!" 

"Hold on." The owner replied. He glanced nervously out the large front window before locking and bolting the door Leon had just come through. He was gripping the shotgun so tight his knuckles were turning white. 

"I don't know Mister. Things have been strange around here for a while but not like… like this! These zombie things, they've come from nowhere. Every time they bite someone eventually they turn into one as well. I've seen it myself. You go out there, eventually you're dead!" 

_That's why there's so many of them. At that rate there must be hundreds._

Leon felt sickened by that revelation. Until then he had just been thinking of them as monsters - bloodthirsty, mindless beasts. He realized that they had once been people, regular men, women, even children. That made the whole situation even worse. 

"So you're a cop? You have to do something! They've got to get the army in here or something. Somebody needs to get us out!" He almost yelled the last few words. Leon was sure he was in shock. 

"I'm not sure what's going to happen." He replied, purposely keeping his voice calm. "But I do know for now we need to look out for ourselves until they can get the proper people in here to clean up this mess. What weapons do you have?" 

The question seemed to sooth the other man somewhat, and he apologetically gestured to his shotgun. "This is it. When these zombies first started appearing there was a mad rush for weapons. I was lucky not to be killed by looters! This is the only weapon I could grab, and I was lucky to get that!" 

Leon cursed under his breath. That didn't bode well for either of them. "Ammunition?" he asked hopefully, looking around at the empty racks and display cases in the store. 

The owner nodded "Plenty of that under the counter. That's a VP70 isn't it?" He nodded to Leon's handgun. "I've got some 9 millimeter parabellum rounds. You can take them, I don't have any H & K's left" 

At least that was something. Leon quickly searched the counter he had indicated and sure enough, the bullets were there. It wasn't much but it was better then nothing. He loaded his gun again, giving him another eighteen rounds, and stashed the spare couple of cartridges into one of his uniform pockets. Now he had to get this guy to safety. 

"It's not safe here." Leon said, eyeing the huge front window behind his new friend uneasily. There was no way they could barricade this place with that there. "I'm heading for the precinct. We can make a stand there if we have to. You'll need to come with me." 

"Are you crazy? Do you know how many of those things are out there! I'd rather take my chances here!" The man was looking at Leon with wild eyes. "You can do whatever the hell you want, but I'm staying!" 

"You don't understand." Leon said, taking a couple of steps towards him, determined to convince him that it wasn't safe here, that it wouldn't take long for those creatures to sniff them out… then it was too late. 

The huge glass window imploded, showering the owner with a rain of broken glass. Leon watched in horror as four of the zombie creatures burst in, throwing themselves at the man. He managed to get one shot off, and one of the zombies staggered back, its arm blown clean off. The appendage flopped around on the floor like a fish out of water. Even that couldn't save him however, and he went down under a mass of writhing bodies. Teeth sunk into his stomach, and chest. Leon started forward to help him and then clearly saw one of the monsters bite deeply into his neck. Blood sprayed over its face and the man's screams were abruptly cut off. 

_No! You bastards!_

Rage washed over Leon as he watched the brutal slaughter. Without even thinking of his own safety, he brought his gun up and fired over and over, intent on destroying these… _things_. Most of them didn't even notice him, too intent on their fresh kill. The bullets smashed through their decaying flesh easily, the force making them twitch and jump like demented puppets on strings. One went down immediately, it's jaw shattered from a bullet that knocked it backward through the window. He pulled the trigger again and again until a few seconds later they were all down in pools of blood. Their death moans eventually stopped and the only sound to be heard was the crackling of fires in the distance, and his own heavy breathing. 

Leon didn't realize he was still pulling the trigger until the clicking of the empty cartridge finally registered in his head. That brought him back to his senses. 

_They killed him right in front of me, ate him damn it! He didn't stand a chance._

He didn't want to look at the body of the shop owner - or what was left of it - but something shiny caught his eye in amongst the corpses. The shotgun. The thought of going in amongst those bodies to retrieve it revolted him, but it could prove to be an invaluable weapon. He reloaded then holstered his VP70 and took a deep breath. 

The wind blew softly through the shattered window as Leon carefully picked his way through the corpses. His boots slid a little on the fresh blood and he carefully averted his eyes from the horrible wounds the owner had suffered. He snatched the shotgun up and quickly retreated back to the counter. He took a few moments to familiarize himself with weapon. Leon had been given all sorts of weapons training at the Academy and recognized it as a late model Remington 1100-P. Pump action with a shortened barrel for easier aiming. He checked the barrel, only to discover four rounds left. Still, that was better then none. The gun felt cool and comforting in his grasp. He felt a little safer already. 

Going back out onto the street was a bad idea; it wouldn't be long before more zombies started showing up. It was then that he finally noticed the gray door on the far side of the room. A back door maybe? Opening it revealing a dark - and thankfully deserted - alleyway. That was his way. 

Leon quickly went over the store making sure he hadn't missed anything valuable. Once he was certain he had everything he needed, he paused to take one last look at the owner's body. Remorse filled him from another life wasted. 

_I'm sorry. But they won't get away with this. Whoever caused all this will pay. I promise_

He closed the door behind him, leaving the bloody scene behind.


	3. First Survivor

First Survivor 

"Hello? Is anyone here?" 

There was no answer. Not that Leon had really expected one. The immense main hall of the Raccoon City precinct lay stretched out in front of him, a large R.P.D logo on the floor. The lights were on, that was something. If the power had been cut he wouldn't have stood a chance of surviving. 

A large section of the hall was taken up by a huge statue and fountain display, which seemed quite out of place - to him anyway. Near this was a reception desk. Three doors, two on the left and one on the right were visible. Looking up, Leon could see the narrow second story walkway, and beyond that the faint outline of the third. 

It was deserted. Nothing, not even a single drop of blood. It was as if no one had ever existed in here. Leon wasn't sure if he would have rather had more of the zombies wandering around then absolutely nothing. The silence made him even more uneasy. He kept a tight grip of his handgun. 

The shotgun was on his back - similar to where an archer would have his quiver of arrows - in a makeshift holster he had managed to put together. The weapon had proved too cumbersome to hold, impeding his running. Besides, given its limited ammunition supply, he wanted to save it for emergencies. There was no telling what else could be crawling around in here. 

He checked the bolt he had just thrown against the main doors again. The doors were strong and the bolt made from solid steel, the zombies had no chance of breaking that down. That made him feel slightly better. Except for the fact he was now essentially, a prisoner. With all those things wandering around, he sure as hell wasn't going back outside. 

_Now I just have to find Claire. The way she went, she should be able to come through the back way. I'll have to try and work my way back there somehow_

Leon began to walk towards the reception desk, his footsteps echoing through the still air. It had been a hell of a job just getting here. He'd stuck to the alleys, but even then had been confronted many times by zombies. Some had been wearing the remnants of street clothes, while many had police uniforms. That scared him even more, and the thought of going to the precinct didn't seem so safe anymore. Still it was the only logical place to go. Besides he had to find Claire. 

The new ammunitions he had been feeling so good about just a few minutes ago were dangerously low once more. It had been his last hope that the station would be a safe haven, that something might actually go _right!_ As soon as he had arrived and been able to simply stroll through the doors he realized that wasn't going to happen. The place seemed empty. There were two possibilities: either the force had somehow managed to evacuate in time, or… 

The second possibility was too grim to consider. He absently glanced at the inscription carved below a small round hole in the fountain as he went past. 

_To obtain the key to open your heart, I'll wait for the Unicorn, the beautiful beast_

The statue was of a young woman, but personally he thought the whole thing was fairly tacky. Just what kind of quote was that? Then again, why was he even worrying about that given his current situation? He pushed it out of his mind. 

The wooden reception area was sparsely decorated. A desk was littered with various files and folders. A telephone stood in one corner, and a computer in the other, it's monitor casting a dull glaze over the desk. What caught Leon's eye was the handgun cartridge on the desktop, which he quickly retrieved. 

_That's one good thing about being here, I should be able to pick up some ammo fairly easily._

He turned his attention to the computer. He had learnt a little in his only previous visit here, including how the security system worked in the station. They couldn't just have anyone walking into the offices of course; electronic locks were employed. This terminal controlled these. Each door also had manual locks that could be engaged, but almost everything was computerized these days. The status screen glared back at him 

**DOOR LOCK CONTROL **

EASTERN OFFICES - LOCKED 

WESTERN OFFICES - UNLOCKED 

INFORMATION & RECEPTION - LOCKED 

LOCKED DOORS CAN BE OPENED WITH A KEY CARD. PLEASE CONTACT RECEPTION FOR MORE DETAILS 

_Well at least I've got one choice. I won't get far if I can't get one of those keycards. Only a few cops have them, if I remember right. Either way, no point standing here any longer._

"Lets' find out what's behind door number one." His voice echoed across the hall, but he was the only one who could hear it. 

****************************** 

The western office confirmed his worst fears - the station had been overrun. 

Leon could see immediately that this place had been a battleground, perhaps only a few short hours ago. The office looked like a mini tornado had just passed through. Several desks had been set up as feeble barricades near the doors, which obviously had not worked. The walls were riddled with bullet holes. The blood was the worst of it. The stuff was everywhere, and the air stank of death. This had been the scene of a heroic last stand. 

_Jesus. I don't even want to know what happened here. There's no bodies though. What happened to them?_

A sound filled the room. A faint cry. Not another zombie as he first thought, but a sound he heard before. Someone in pain. 

He saw him then, a large black man sitting on the floor, his back against one of the crushed steel lockers. Leon had been so preoccupied with the destruction of the room that he hadn't even noticed him at first. The front of his R.P.D uniform was covered with blood, and he held a gun in one hand. At his feet was the corpse of another zombie. One look at it and Leon could tell this one wasn't coming back to life anytime soon. It was riddled with bullet holes. 

Leon knelt down by the cop, who sensing movement opened his eyes. He started to raise his gun but checked it when he recognized another human. His breathing was shallow, and his face etched with pain. A faint smile crossed his lips. Leon didn't recognize him… but then again, he'd only met a few people here last time. Whoever he was, he was messed up pretty badly. 

"You picked a bad time to arrive my friend." He looked over Leon's uniform. "You must be the rookie they said was starting tomorrow. I was supposed to get you settled in. Leon Kennedy isn't it?" 

"That's right." Leon replied. "Are you okay?" 

_What a stupid question, of course he's not okay. I'm not okay. Nobody around here is! _

"You shouldn't have come here Leon. This place is almost finished. Soon those zombies will have completely taken over." He grimaced in pain. Leon saw the deep wound in his chest where something had bitten him. It looked almost like he had been mauled by a pit bull. A trickle of blood appeared from the corner of his mouth as he spoke. 

Leon realized the cop was dying. He knew he shouldn't press him for details, but he had to know what was going on! 

"Can you tell me anything about what's going on? Where are these things _coming_ from?" 

"It happened a couple of months ago." The other man began to speak slowly, gasping as his body tried to fight the terrible wounds. "There was a series of murders around the outskirts of the city. Hikers mainly. A couple of survivors claimed there some kind of mutations running loose out there. Eventually they sent the S.T.A.R.S in. They uncovered a secret lab in an old mansion nearby. It was run by… Umbrella." 

_Umbrella, the pharmaceuticals company? All those rumors about that virus they were working on… could they have been true?_

"Most of them were killed in that mansion. A few managed to get out and expose Umbrella for what they really were. Jill, Barry, Rebecca, Brad and Chris. Their story was so astonishing that no one here really took them seriously. They claimed Umbrella was working on some kind of virus: one that could produce bio weapons. It also turned people into these zombie things. The lab was destroyed by an explosion, so they had no real evidence… just what they had seen" 

_Of course no one believed them. I wouldn't have either, but after what's happening here… Chris, that must be Claire's brother. Well that's one piece of good news. He survived._

"Irons didn't want them spreading wild stories around, so he temporarily suspended all S.T.A.R.S from duty. There were suspicions he was on Umbrella's payroll… but nothing could be proved. Then yesterday these things started appearing in the city. It was the beginning of the end for us." 

He winced, one hand covering his bloody wound. 

"Hang in there buddy. I'll help you out of here." Leon started to try and help him up but stopped when the man grabbed his arm. His grip was still surprisingly strong. 

"It's too late for me Leon. I wouldn't stand a chance out there like this. We both know that. Plus that thing…" He gestured to the corpse on the floor. "It bit me. You know what that means. It won't be long now." There was no fear in his voice, just a dull acceptance. 

"Don't give up. There could still be a way out of this!" 

The wounded man reached into his pocket and withdrew a small blue piece of plastic. "Take this Leon. It'll unlock the doors in the main hall. Somewhere in here there has to be more survivors! You're the only chance they have to get out." 

Leon pocketed the keycard. Now he had access to more rooms, and he would hopefully be able to link up with Claire. Still he couldn't just leave this guy here to the mercy of whatever came along next. 

"I'll rescue them I promise. But I can't leave you here. You're coming with…." His voice trailed off as he suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of a pistol 

"_Go!"_ The cop cried out, much louder then Leon would have thought he could. _"I can't resist it much longer! Get out of here now you fool!"_ He was making strange noises and writhing about in pain, the gun shaking. Leon realized there was nothing more he could do here now - except maybe get himself killed. He turned and bolted out the door, never looking back at the man crying in agony behind him. 


	4. The Licker

The Licker 

Ada stood motionless, carefully concealed in the shadows on the second floor balcony, watching with interest as the young cop operated the computer in the main hall. He'd obviously gotten hold of a keycard - she heard the loud click of the electronic locks being released below. This was an unexpected development. If anything could be unexpected anymore in this place. 

She'd seen the look of fear in his face as he'd bolted out the office door - apparently he'd run into another one of the monsters that seemed to be everywhere. She considering killing him right there - the last thing she needed was a cop bumbling around making things even more difficult. The only thing that stopped her was at this extreme range, the handgun couldn't be guaranteed to score a hit, and she didn't want to draw anymore attention to herself - from him or the things that were roaming the place. 

She hadn't signed up for anything like _this_. The goddamn job had supposed to be so easy, infiltrate the lab then find the sample - probably still in the possession of the Birkin woman - and head to the rendezvous point. Nobody had said anything about zombies murdering half the population. Or that she'd be forced to come here to escape the carnage outside. The shit had hit the fan as soon as she'd arrived and been almost eaten by a group of the walking dead, and things had declined steadily from there. Her mood had darkened more by the minute and she was ready to unleash her fury on the next thing - human or not - that crossed her. 

Ada wasn't the type to back out of any assignment, no matter the risks. She had a mission, and she'd be damned if a few walking corpses were going to get in the way of that. She was a pro at her job, and was going to make sure her payment at least doubled for all this mess she'd gone through. The monsters could be killed - her handgun had already seen to that several times. The lab was reachable from this precinct. The company had given her detailed plans of the place, along with the full set of keys needed. Right now that was her priority. The cop could wait. If she was lucky, he wouldn't survive anyway. If he did, then well… that would be dealt with if it happened. 

With a last glance at the cop disappearing into the waiting room, Ada set off to find what she needed. 

***************************************** 

Leon found himself in a dimly lit corridor. Debris was scattered everywhere, ranging from broken office furniture to files and folders. Large windows were periodically placed along one side of the wall, and they made him nervous. Back in the waiting room he had thought he'd seen something, a flicker of movement from the corner of his eye. Something was out there. 

He was still shaken by his encounter with the other officer. The man had been infected with whatever it was these zombie things had, but Leon still would have gone back in to help him if he hadn't somehow managed to manually lock the door. All he could do now was hope the guy would be okay. 

If one of those things bites me, could I be infected as well? Probably, it's not like I'd be immune. The sooner I find the other survivors he mentioned and meet up with Claire the sooner we can figure out how to get the hell out of here. 

Thankfully the waiting room had held no more ugly surprises. He had found something useful though, a memo explaining about a safe that had been moved from the S.T.A.R.S room to another office. It also included the combination needed. That information could be useful later. However, the first priority was to link up with Claire and find out if anyone else was still alive around here. 

The only sound in the corridor was a faint hissing and crackling, which he eventually identified as coming from the control panel that operated the steel roller shutters. It was shorted out, the cord a melted mass of plastic. The window covers would have been a welcome comfort, but it was not to be. He rounded the corner and almost tripped over another body. 

His stomach stayed firmly down where it belonged as he knelt down next to the decapitated cop. Probably because there was nothing left to throw up this time, because he still felt sick looking at the remains. The head was gone leaving a bloody stump of a neck. The wound was jagged and messy almost as if the head had been ripped off completely. Surely not even those zombies could have done this… could they? 

_If they didn't then who… what did?_

He unstrapped the shotgun from his back and held it firmly with both hands. If the mysterious beheader was still around, he certainly didn't want to be using the puny handgun. 

There was a door to his right, which turned out to be locked. Another door beckoned from the end of the corridor and he headed towards it, eyes scanning the floor and walls intently. 

He had only a split second warning. A single drop of blood splashed onto the floor in front of him. He looked up and… 

_Oh shit!!!_

Clinging to the ceiling was the strangest thing he had ever seen. It was about the size of a large dog, and had a wiry, muscular body covered with deep red splotches of skin and what almost looked like veins. Its arms and legs propelled it easily across the ceiling, sharp claws clicking menacingly. As Leon stood there stunned, the thing turned it's head in his direction, revealing a gaping mouth full of piranha-like teeth and a long tongue that seemed almost like a lance shot out, the edges displaying wicked barbs. He had only a moment to take down these details before it struck. 

It moved fast, so fast! The beast disengaged itself from the ceiling and dropped down directly in front of Leon as he desperately backpedaled. In almost the same movement it sprang forward, the blood stained teeth in full view. Leon rolled to the side, only just avoiding the contact as the beast landed in the space he had occupied a couple of seconds earlier. It whirled quickly around just as Leon took aim at its head. 

The Remington blast sounded deafening in the confined space. Leon, not prepared for the recoil, stumbled backwards and almost fell. The shot blasted the beast backward down the corridor, bits of flesh spraying in the air. It flopped around on the floor for a few moments, its agonizing screams filling the corridor. Eventually they too died, and it lay still. 

_That was too close. Almost lost my head as well._

He prodded the corpse with the barrel of the shotgun. The thing's face was almost unrecognizable from the blast. It wasn't going to be getting up anytime soon. That gave him a chance to examine it further. It didn't resemble any other single creature he'd seen before, rather seemed to be a mixture. Some kind of mutation perhaps? That didn't explain what it was doing here. It had no eyes either… of course it was hard to be sure with the damage the Remington had done, but no eye sockets were visible. The thing must have other senses to rely on. 

This is getting too damn weird. If there's one of these things here, there's probably more. I better find Claire soon, can't let her wander around alone with these things on the loose. 

He reloaded the shotgun with a satisfying click, and stepped through the door. 

**************************************************** 

Another short corridor later, Leon found himself standing in the briefing room. He had been here before, to be introduced to the majority of his new comrades but had a hard time recognizing it now. Like all the other rooms it was in complete disarray, the small desks and plastic chairs thrown every which way. Benches lined the walls; some shattered and splintered from bullets. Bloodstains marred the wooden floor. There had been a major firefight in here… and it looked like the good guys had lost. 

He found another handgun cartridge on one of the tables, which was a welcome addition to his store. A piece of paper lying nearby caught his eye: 

_Operations Report, 26 September. _

The zombies have broken through our barricades and are now roaming the station. They outnumber us at least three to one, and more seem to appear by the hour. Our barricades can't hold them for much longer. We must take action if we are to survive. The communication equipment was destroyed, and we can't rely on any rescue teams, because no one even knows what's happened here. Chief Irons is nowhere to be found and the morale of the men is low. We don't have much time. 

Sgt. David Ford 

11.00 p.m. - Another attack came late into the night. We lost another five men, including Lance, who had the key to the underground weapon storage. We must have those weapons to stand a chance. Without the key there is no way to reach them. Things are grim. We are fast running out of food and water, and are constantly under siege. 

2.00 am - A new creature appeared in our ranks and killed three men before it was taken down. I've no idea what it is, or how many of them there are. The creature has been named the 'Licker' due to obvious reasons. They are even deadlier then the zombies. Our hopes are growing dimmer by the hour. I can hear the screams again already. This will be the last stand. 

Sgt. David Ford 

Leon didn't feel much better after scanning the report. There must have been a dozen cops or more here before, and they'd all been wiped out. What chance did he have? Sill there was no choice. He couldn't just leave people to die here. 

Suddenly, an explosion sounded somewhere in the building. The impact must have been immense, as the roar echoed for several moments afterwards. Something had happened, and he guessed it was the opposite side of the station. For now he had focused on the task at hand, finding Claire. 

Leon tried to recall the station layout. The S.T.A.R.S room should be upstairs near the huge library. Claire was looking for her brother after all, so she was bound to go there. Hopefully she'd realize it was the most likely place to find him. It would be a good place to start anyway; he was fast running out of ideas. 


End file.
